|
| 
 enlarge | Author: Charles Leerhsen
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $13.56
You Save: $12.44 (48%)
New (37) Used (19) from $10.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 18265
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0743291778
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.1750929
EAN: 9780743291774
ASIN: 0743291778
Publication Date: May 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 21-22 of 22 | | « PREV | | |
 Wacky Rich May 24, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Rich referring to not just Dan Patch's owner, but also to Leerhsen's book, multilayered and full of tasty stuff. Villains and/or complicated characters abound. The one sure hero is Dan Patch, whose history and personality are revealed like a mystery being solved, while Leerhsen schleps us around the early 20th century racing circuit, and we bask in such emerging or time-honored cultural phenomena as mass marketing (often bogus), absurd product endosement, racetrack corruption, gross material excess, the cult of celebrity, and road domination by the motorcar. We meet descendants of some of the important humans in Dan's life and the current day keepers of the Dan Patch flame, including Leerhsen himself, the obsessed lead detective who's loved the track all his life. Besides fascinating, Crazy Good is misty-eyed poignant and laugh-out-loud hilarious, with fabulous writing ranging from sportspage dramatic to erudite to profane. Wacky Rich.
The Standardbred Legend Comes To Life May 19, 2008
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Talk about a superstar, fans used to say that the legendary natural pacer, Dan Patch, would stop on the track before a race and look to the stands to count the house.
And from where this forgotten legend had come from, that gaze was worth its weight in gold.
Author Charles Leerhsen brings to life the amazing career of this Standardbred racer who set his mark on the track and in sponsorship deals; from chewing tobacco and toys to washing machines and automobiles, there was even an "air-line" named after the stallion.
Born with a crooked-leg in 1896, his original owner thought the Indiana-bred would only have a career in front of a delivery wagon. Not raced until age four, Dan Patch quickly became a sensation on the national Grand Circuit and in exhibition races; his average paced mile in his 73 GC events was under two minutes and he banked more than $2 million in prize money.
But it was September 8, 1906, at the Minnesota State Fair race track, where Dan Patch set an amazing mark before 93,000 fans. He paced a mile in 1:55, a record that stood for 32 years. Dan Patch was retired in 1909 and died in July 1916.
And with the triumph came tragedy and memories of a golden era fading away as years quickly rolled into decades. Dan Patch will again forever stand tall as a titan in sports, as Leerhsen has brought this incredible story back on track.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
